PopUp Republic

Interview with Aaron Gadiel, Shopping Center Executive

Aaron gadiel has spent more than 20 years in commercial real estate. He has developed and implemented many types of pop-up concepts, primarily as a means to position his properties as a “destination” among consumers. He has also worked with several large brands that have created activation experiences for customers.

• Q: What is your background?

  Real estate professional for the past 20 years. Got my start doing residential appraisals, moved to brokerage, then shopping center development. In my “spare time,” I’ve been an amateur promoter for the last 25 years, producing everything from concerts, movie screenings, antique markets, and food festivals. My work mantra had always been: “Real estate is how I feed my family, and being a promoter is how I feed my soul.” Feel like I’ve been able to marry the two with my work on the marketing side of the real estate world.

• Q: When did you first hear about pop-ups, and when did you start implementing them in your mall?

  My first exposure to pop-up stores was through a seasonal temporary lease I did in 2005. It was a Halloween costume store that only wanted to be open from September 1 through November 1. I remember thinking to myself at the time, “great business model!” In 2008, when the retail world fell off a cliff, I started to look at these temporary leasing opportunities, or “pop-up stores,” as a way to fill vacant space at a shopping center I was leasing. Pop-up stores quite ...